And so the Adventure Begins

By Kevin Gaskell, business leader and Ocean5 rower

And so the adventure begins! We collected our boat from Rannoch, the boat builder. She’s a beauty! All we have to do now is name her, fully prepare her, sea test her, learn how to get her to go as fast as possible and get her to the starting line by December 2019 – together with our fantastic crew! You can find out how you can name the boat here.

We kept this in mind while enjoying the Spanish sun and scoping out the arrangements for the start of the 2018 race in La Gomera. There was lots and lots to observe and learn in 2 days at the marina before the teams set off. The devil of being successful in this race is very definitely in the detail of the preparation. Chris, Sam and I attended the briefing from the race organisers to the 2019 crews. The race director explains that getting the boat into the water could well be the easy bit – psychological preparation will be key. There is a reason that they call this the “World’s Toughest Row”…

We had the pleasure of seeing all of the 2018 fleet safely and securely in the marina at La Gomera on the evening before the race started. The excitement and anticipation of the unknown were building quickly. This time next year The Ocean5 boat and crew will be here and ready to go.